


But It Makes Me Kinda Nervous To Say So

by Hawkogirl



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, I might make a sequel to this, Mermaids!!!, Pre-Relationship, Sirens, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 05:00:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkogirl/pseuds/Hawkogirl
Summary: In which Luke is a siren, and nobody really talks or likes him because he's a siren, but he's trying his hardest.In which Ian, a merman, is the first person to interact with him





	But It Makes Me Kinda Nervous To Say So

**Author's Note:**

> The title if from Think I'm In Love by Beck.
> 
> Got the idea from here- https://chosui.tumblr.com/post/99431858927/there-is-a-difference-between-a-mermaid-and-a
> 
> For the mermaid day of asagao august

A fisherman loved the sea more than anything else. 

He spent his days on the waves, made his living off the fish he caught. He cut turtles and seals from his nets, even if it meant the loss of a days’ catch. He mourned them if he didn’t get them free in time. Whenever he saw human hair and bright scales, he waved. After all, he too was a man of the ocean. Sometimes they waved back.

When it was too stormy to boat, he went and watched the waves cascade across the dark rocks and the rain fall upon his head, and promised his ocean he’d be back soon, and wished well to all fish who may get caught on the shore.

He protected and lived from the ocean.

The ocean protected him and let him live from it.

He met another man of the sea, and several years later, they were married. The couple spent their days on the ocean that had brought them together, and brought three children up with a love of the sea.

He watched his children grow up, go to college, get married, and have families of their own.

He was a grandfather, and then a great-grandfather.

At 80, he buried his husband.

At 81 years old, the fisherman died peacefully in his sleep.

And at that moment, a merman was born. Merfolk are born when a person with a deep love of the sea, or another body of water, dies, passing their life protecting the sea to another soul. The merperson carries on that legacy, cutting marine life from nets, watching the rain, observing the waves cascade upon the rocks. Mermaids are born from peaceful deaths. They are protectors, peacekeepers, guardians that admire human life from a distance.

A young man boarded a ship with the goal of sailing to a distant land to perform in front of millions.

Along the way, a small box of jewelry was found. And it was identified as jewels owned by a notoriously greedy nobleman's wife. And so the hunt began.

The young man experienced accusation after accusation feeling nothing but fear. He didn’t want it to go like this! He just wanted to follow his dreams.

He watched in horror as some of the accused came incredibly close to meeting their fate at the bottom of the sea. It was the law of course. Death was the punishment for stealing something of great value.

He watched in horror as a woman turned and pointed at him, green eyes fierce. “You’ve been quiet!” 

His mouth dropped open. The passengers put him on what was essentially a trial. He watched in horror as more and move hands popped up in his condemnation. Oh god, his career was going to end before it began.

Ropes digging into his sides, he was cast into the churning waves.

Thoughts sparked into his head as the water enveloped him, putting more bone-cracking pressure on him, pulling him deeper, and his lungs screamed for air.

He was dead before his body hit the sandy sea floor.

In that moment, a siren was born.

Sirens are born from violent deaths, always involving water. Drowning, being murdered at sea, water-borne diseases, bodies being thrown into the water after death. Their singing is enchanting, aiming to hypnotize humans and drag them to their own watery deaths.

  
  
  


Luke had fallen asleep on a rock submerged under three feet of water, sticking up from the sea floor. 

He pushed himself off the rock, tail beating behind him. Any other siren would be upset to have a tail with pastel blue and pink scales, but he didn’t mind. He was a bit of a weird siren anyway, having a tail that was more similar to the bright flashy scales of mermaids rather than the dark ones of sirens was a ton less weird than refusing to sing to and drown humans.

...Catching fish was much harder when you weren’t meant to catch them. Mermaids had humanesque hands, but with long sharp nails so they could stab and pluck fish from the edge of schools, usually with the help of other merpeople to direct the fish where they wanted. The hands of sirens were webbed, but barbed so the skin of humans would catch on them and be easily dragged to their deaths.

Luke didn’t kill things that looked so scared.

He went through the extra effort to try and grasp a fish, eventually managing to spear one on his extra sharp teeth. He drifted to a stop directly in front of… a mermaid.

A merman with stunningly dark purple scales that were very pretty and very unlike a mermaid. Or he was a siren with dull teeth and sharp nails.

“What’s a siren doing catching fish?” The merman mumbled, but it took thirty seconds for Luke’s brain to process that A- He was being interacted with and the guy didn’t run and B- He was really pretty.

“Uhhhh!” Was his intelligent response.

He smiled. “Take your time.”

Luke pulled the fish out of his teeth. “I don’t wanna kill anything that can ask me not to.”

“Huh. Are you and your heart of gold and your pastel scales sure you’re a siren?”

He pushed himself upward. “I like my scales!” 

The merman gave him a slight smile, the ocean reflecting in his eyes, “I do, too.” Luke’s entire being felt lighter. “I’ve just never met a siren who didn’t hiss at me until I left.”

He blinked, tipping his head. “They do that?”

“Dude, you are an actual siren.”

“They stare at me like I’m gonna steal their human meat. As if I want that stuff!” He made a face. “And merpeople stare at me like I’m gonna hurt them.” Luke rested his head on his hands. “So I haven’t talked to anyone. Ever.”

The other’s tone was something he’d never heard before. “You’re making me sad. How do you wanna stay with my brothers and sisters?”

His head jerked up, excitement in his expression. “You serious?” Was he having interaction and companionship offered to him? Every inch of him suddenly felt light.

“No, I just want to get the sweetheart siren’s hopes up to crush them, because I’m sadistic.” Luke’s heart splintered into shreds and he was sure his face visibly fell at the words. He was stupid. People had avoided him every day of his life. He saw small groups of merpeople wander around. He saw them add young loners to their groups. He approached in hopes that they’d accept him, and it never happened. He thought he’d learned his lesson, but he just had to go off and get his hopes crushed again, how could he be so stupid and lonely and-

“Woah woah woah! I was joking! And even if I wasn’t, you looked so crushed then I’d bring you along whether I meant it or not. Damn dude, you’re cute enough to get sailors drowning without singing.” 

Luke blushed. “Is that meant as a compliment?”

The merman didn’t move for a moment. “Yeah. What’s your name? Wait, don’t tell me. You don’t have one.” 

Luke shook his head. “No. I just gave it to myself. I’m Luke.”

“Good taste. I’m Ian. You joining me or no?”

“Yes please!” He said, probably too quickly.

Ian grabbed his wrist and Luke’s heart nearly stopped. That was a thing he could have? People gave out friendly contact? What had he done to earn it, and what could he do to have it more? His body felt warm and fuzzy, and his wrist felt like fire, but in a good way. He wanted more good fire.

  
  
  


“Who’s the new guy, Ian?” A mermaid with long red hair and similar scales asked. 

“This is Luke, and I’ve known him for twenty minutes, but if anything happened to him I might kill everyone in this ocean and then myself.” Ian replied, and Luke gave the other four merpeople his best smile.

Wait.

Siren teeth.

Right.

The four stared at him, and Luke felt three inches tall. Oh god. Again. He was gonna ruin another chance.

“Ian?” One started hesitantly. “It’s a siren.”

Luke shrunk back. Of course. Even if Ian cared, or pretended to, the others wouldn’t.

“Yes. He’s a siren. Who doesn’t go after humans. I met him as he was trying to fish.” 

Luke held out his fish, hoping his meager offering would grant him an ounce of sympathy. Please don’t leave him on his own. After the touch, he wasn’t sure he could survive if he was left standing on his own again.

Hell, he’d beg, he just didn't want to feel any worse than he already did.

“Shane, I think we should give him a chance.” another mermaid said. Her scales looked similar to his, just darker.

“Please?” That’s the most he could get past his lips.

Shane grunted. “Fine.”

  
  
  


He’s woken by soundwaves.

Everyone else was asleep, and he looked around. His heart sank as he realized all the other merpeople were sleeping at least 10 feet away from him, piled in a heap. Except for Ian, curled only a few feet away. 

It had been two weeks. Only Ian was willing to be near him alone.

Luke doesn’t feel like dealing with that emotionally right now, so he heads to the surface to listen to whatever is going on.

They group seemed to have halted near a dock. Interesting. He used to come here, used to being two weeks ago. The humans play music, and he likes listening.

The song was a love song that his experiences with are few and far between, but he likes it and knows the chorus.

...Love is a strange thing, he thought, as the first verse passed. He had to piece it together via love songs, but love seems to be unique, and something most humans seek. It’s devoted and powerful yet gentle. You want that person to like you, to be near you, to trust you. To tell you they love you too. Love means that you have someone forever.

He thinks he loves Ian. He never had the chance before, but he thinks the warm bubbliness deep in his being when he’s near Ian is some form of love. He thinks the lightness and happiness accompanying the warm fire when Ian touches him is love.

He liked love.

Luke smiled as the song launched into the chorus, joining into the lyrics as the piano part he likes starts up.

“I think I’m in love but it kinda makes me nervous to say so!”

**Author's Note:**

> comments please


End file.
